I don't think those companies are operating outside the law, but even so their unfair biz. plan depends heavily on a a knowledge imbalance between them on the 1 hand & the people who pay them big bux on the other hand.
In that way they are similar to the timeshare companies themselves, which are infamous for using high pressure, arm-twisting, guilt-tripping, psychologically manipulative sales methods to take advantage of people's low level of timeshare understanding.
By me, both kinds of businesses are shady even though they are "legitimate" in the narrow sense of not being against the law.
In the case of the timeshare companies that put on those high pressure, arm-twisting, guilt-tripping, psychologically manipulative sales pitches, at least there's a cooling off period of a few days to 1 week during which the person who bought at full freight can get out of it by rescinding in a timely fashion.
I don't know if there's any rescission period for getting out of it after being hornswoggled by 1 of those Pay Us Big Bux To Take Your Timeshare Off Your Hands companies.
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
There is not a one size fits all answer to the legality of a PCC operation.
To the extent that they follow the usual procedure, and have the owner sign a power of attorney (to sell the timeshare), they are operating outside the law if they do not have a brokers license. POA was never meant to be used wholesale to transact real estate. That's why they license brokers.
If the PCC is aligned with a broker, and a POA is used to sell the timeshare, the POA can be declared void if it was signed under duress. Lying, dramatizing, etc employed to coerce a signature is duress. As is simple misrepresentation of the process.
Most owners who pay a PCC truly believe that they are transferring title to the PCC. Of course, they are not.
So, the list goes on regarding the legality of a PCC operation. I am not saying categorically that all PCC's are illegal. Just those that engage in the above.